Page 3 of Dating Goals
True to character, Beckett gives Tolliver the bird and says, “At least I don’t spend my Saturday nights knitting sweaters for my cat while watchingThe Great British Bake Off!”
“Hey!” Jonny’s face turns tomato red. “It was ONE sweater, and my mom’s cat gets cold!”
The guys burst out laughing. Who knew Tolliver was a secret knitter?
“All right, shut up, all of you.” Hendrix’s voice cuts through the laughter. He’s standing by his locker, still half in his gear, looking more serious than I’ve ever seen him. “I’ve got something to say.”
We all quiet down, though Sawyer’s still chuckling under his breath.
“I’m gonna propose to Colette.”
The room goes dead quiet for about two seconds before exploding.
Owen whistles through his teeth, and Sawyer lets out a whoop that probably echoes all the way to the practice rink.
“That’s why I can’t go to Europe,” Hendrix continues, trying to maintain his serious face but failing as a grin breaks through. “Can’t exactly pop the question over FaceTime.”
“Better not,” Kevin laughs. “Leigh would kill you if you did that to Colette.”
“So would Emily,” Owen adds.
“Our little class clown, all grown up!” Sawyer pretends to dab away tears with his jersey.
I lean forward on my bench. “Does she suspect anything?”
“Nah.” Hendrix smirks. “She still thinks I’m the same idiot who put a whoopee cushion on her chair at the teacher’s meeting last month.”
“You ARE the same idiot who put a whoopee cushion on her chair last month,” Owen supplies.
“Seriously,” Kevin says. “I don’t know how she puts up with you.”
“Do you need our help, man?” I say. “I mean with the proposal.”
Hendrix twists his face, as if thinking takes too much effort. “Ummm…I’ll let you know.”
“Well, let’s all hope there’s no lockout,” says Kevin grimly. “For all our sakes.”
I feel a twinge of guilt. While they’re all wrestling with family decisions, my biggest concern is whether Swiss food will agree with me. “Maybe they’ll reach a deal at the last minute?”
“Yeah, and maybe Malcolm Chase will start paying the female staff fairly,” Owen snorts. “Not holding my breath.”
“Did you guys see his latest press statement?” Hendrix says, yanking off his shoulder pads. “Trying to spin this whole CBA thing like he’s protecting the stockholders.” He makes air quotes with his fingers.
Owen snorts. “Right, because he’s such a humanitarian.”
“Guy’s worth what, half a billion?” Kevin shakes his head. “And he’s crying poor about player salaries?”
“Anyone else buy in when they offered?” Hendrix asks. “I’ve got the automatic deduction from my paycheck. Don’t even notice it’s gone.”
I nod, remembering the investment package Malcolm’s office circulated a few months back. The promise of being a stockholder of the team we play for had seemed too good to pass up.
“Guilty.” Owen nods. “Emily wasn’t sure about it at first, but the projected returns looked promising.”
“I did,” I admit, raising my hand. “Seemed like a solid investment at the time.”
“Same,” Kevin says. “Leigh thought it would be good for our retirement portfolio.”
“Not me.” Sawyer holds up his hands. “No offense, but after everything with my dad…I’m staying away from anything that smells like creative financing. I prefer my money where I can see it.”
